This application is based on applications No. 2005-143961 filed in Japan, the contents of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a data file management apparatus, such as an image forming apparatus, having the function to accumulate the data file shared by a plurality of users, a data file management program and a recording medium for recording the program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a multifunction peripheral, an image file such as the scan data is accumulated in a storage unit such as a hard disk drive and shared by a plurality of users either in such a manner that the file is accumulated in a public box accessible without a password or in such a manner that the file is accumulated in a private box capable of being accessed using a password distributed to the users sharing the file (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the joint file users). In any case, the file accumulated may be deleted by someone (who may be one of the joint file users) without the consent of all the joint file users or in spite of the presence of a joint file user who has yet to access the file.
A conventional technique to share a file among a plurality of users is known in which a deadline is set to hold the file in the system. In the presence of some user who has not accessed the file before the deadline, however, the file is unconditionally deleted. Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-240511, on the other hand, discloses a technique in which when a file is accumulated, the mail address of the accumulator is registered, and at the time of file deletion, a mail seeking the consent of the accumulator about the proposed deletion is sent to the registered mail address. In the case where a response mail indicating the consent to the proposed deletion is returned, the file is deleted, while otherwise, i.e. in the case where a response mail not consenting to the proposed deletion is received or no response mail is received, then the file is deleted after being sent to the mail address.
In the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2004-240511, however, the mail seeking the deletion is sent only to the file accumulator, and therefore the file is still liable to be deleted by the file accumulator without the consent of all the joint file users or in the presence of a joint file user having not accessed the file.